Portable antenna mounting



Aug- 26, 1947 A. G. RICHARDSON T ETAL" PORTABLE ANTENNA MOUNTING Fild Feb. 27', A194.3

ATTRWY Patented Aug. ze, 1947 PORTABLE ANTENNA MOUNTING Avery G. Richardson, Boonton, and Casper S.

Bednash, `lersey City, N. J., assignors to Federal Telephone and Radio Corporation, Newark, N. J., a corporation of Delaware Application February 27, 1943, Serial No. 477,346

This invention relates to portable antenna mountings, and more particularly to tripod supports for vertical antenna arrangements.

In iield operation such as is commonly encountered with mobile Army units, it is often desirable to have antenna arrangements which may be quickly set up in a eld and easily aligned. Such structures should be as simple as possible and should avoid use of loose parts as much as possible to minimize danger of losing some of the pieces. Furthermore, in order that accuracy of indications may be assured, the units should be as rigid as possible and should be so constructed that it may be easily adjusted to line up several antenna units with one another.

It is a principal object of our invention to provide a portable antenna support which is simple in construction and relatively rigid.

It is a further object of our invention to provide a portable antenna which may be quickly set up inthe field and easily adjusted as to alignment.

It is a still further object of our invention to provide a portable antenna arrangement in which the legs supporting the structure may be easily adjusted in length.

In accordance with ourinvention, we provide a tripod antenna support adapted to carry a rodshaped antenna. The structure includes three legs held together at one end to provide a pyramid shaped tripod and at their other ends provided with sharp-footed adjustable members with which the supporting rods may be easily adjusted in length. Intermediate the upper and lower` ends of the tripod legs are provided antenna supporting rods which preferably extend horizontally from these intermediate points to a central point directly below the apex of the pyramid deined by the legs. At this center Ipoint is provided an antenna carrying member which supports the weight of the antenna, the other end of which extends upwardly through'an opening in the member fastened to the upper ends of the legs. The antenna supporting rods may be made adjustable in length so that the antenna support may be shifted with respect to the apex of the pyramid for adjustment of alignment of the antenna.

A better understanding of our invention may be had from the particular description thereof made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational veiw of a tripod antenna embodying the features of our invention;

6 Claims. (Cl. 24S- 44) Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken between the lines 2-2 of Fig, 1 illustrating a construction for the tripod support;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken along the lower portion of one of the legs II shown in Fig. 1 to illustrate the ladjustable leg arrangement;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of an antenna bracket arrangement used for supporting antenna support rods shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged illustration of a form of antenna support rod which may be used in accordance with our invention.

Turning rst to Fig. l, I0 represents a vertical rod antenna which may be of the telescoping type in order that it may be tuned to different wavelengths. Three leg rods II, I2 and I3 are provided and assembled in the form of a pyramid fastened together at the apex by antenna retainthe means Ill. Most of rod I3 is obscured in Fig. 1 by antenna Iii. At the feet of each oi rods Il, I2 and I3 are provided adjustable foot portions I5, Iii and I 'I which may be used to secure proper footing and adjustment of the antenna. At a point intermediate the ends of rods II, I2 and I3 are provided three antenna support rods; one attached to each leg II, I2 and I3 at one end. Only support rods I8 and i9, attached to legs II and I2, respectively, appear in Fig. 1; the support rod attached at one end to leg I3 is not visible. These antenna support rods I8, I9 are detachably fastened at one end by brackets like 20, 2I to the rods II, I2 and I3, and at their other ends are detachably fastened in brackets 22 and 23 mounted on antenna supporting plate 24. The third rod (not shown) is fastened by similar brackets to leg I3 and plate 24., rIhe lower end of antenna II) is positioned in plate 24 by suitable means such as collar 25 and extends through plate 24 and through an opening in antenna retaining means I4. Rods I8, I9 and the third rod (not shown) form a spider and are made adjustable in length so that the antenna support plate 24 may be adjusted relative to the apex of the pyramid formed by the three legs II, I2 and I3 to adjust the alignment of antenna I0 vertically. Rods I8, IB, and the third rod (not shown), t0- gether with the portions of the legs II, I2 and I3 below the brackets like 20 serve to carry the antenna weight. The upper ends of leg rods II, I2 and I3 serve to brace antenna I against lateral movement caused by winds and the like.

The upper ends of each of the legs II, I2 and I3 are detachably retained in position at antenna retaining means I 4 by the arrangement'shown more clearly in Fig. 2. In this arrangement elements Ill comprises a tubular sleeve portion 30 having the inner diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of antenna I0. At the lower end of tube 3! is provided a flange 3i to which are xed three cap members 32 equally spaced around the circumference of plate 3l and preferably welded at one end to sleeve 35. These portions 32 are adjusted at a fixed angle with respect to plate 3l so that upon assembling the antenna the tripod legs will always assume a definite fixed angle. On the inner side of member 32 is provided a slot 33 and on leg Il is provided a projecting pin or screw 34 adapted to slide in slot 33 to assure proper alignment of leg II so that the bracket Z will be supported inside of the gure defined by the three tripod legs. Ears like 3Ia fastened to and projecting upward from flange 3l act as stops for screws like 34 to prevent displacement of the legs while in assembled condition.

At the lower end of each of the legs Ii, I2 and I3 is provided the adjustable arrangement I5, I5 and il'. The lower end of each of these adjustable foot members I5, It and I'I is made into a point or flattened edge as shown. The remaining details of construction are more clearly seen by reference to Fig. 3. In this arrangement it can be seen that element E5 coinprises a hollow tubular portion I5 having an inner diameter substantially equal to the diameter of leg II. On the upper side of sleeve IG is a slot lll which extends downwardly to a point near the lower end of foot portion I5. Across both sides of slot l'ears project from sleeve I9 and form bracket member 42. Preferably, this member 42 is a unitary U-shaped structure. In each wall of bracket 42 is provided a cam slot I3 having a definite fixed angle with respect to the sleeve 55. A locking wheel it is mounted between the ears forming bracket member t2 with its shaft in slots lili. This wheel is preferably roughened or knurled on the outer periphery. On one side of leg II provided a locking plate l5 which may be of a soft metal or may be of some hardened material similar to brake linings.

Instead of providing a separate locking plate the locking wheel may bear against the material of the pole itself in which case, if desired, a ridge may be provided to position the sleeve thereon. Plate 55 is in the form of a` strip of just suiicient width to fit :in slot @I so that sleeve (I8 will always be positioned in the proper relation to leg il when the parts are assembled. As leg II is forced downwardly into sleeve di, locking Wheel il is fixed to roll downwardly in cam slot 43 tightly wedging locking wheel itil against locking plate 45. Should it be desired to adjust the length of leg Il, wheel M may be readily loosened merely by holding sleeve il and forcing leg I I to move in an opposite direction away .from the sleeve 40, thus forcing wheel 44 upwardly in slot (i3. Wheel 4 may then be positioned manually downward so as to contact the braking strip t5 locking in place against leg II. Since wheel 443 is always retained in position, there is no danger of losing the part and it is always available when it is desired to set up the antenna.

'Ihe construction of antenna support rods I8, I9 and brackets 20, 2l may more readily be seen by reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Support rod I8,

`for example, has fastened on each end, attaching hooks 50, 5I provided with circular openings 52, 53 and narrower slots 54, 55. Bracket 2U may consist of a base plate element 6U having two upstanding bracket portions 5I, 62 preferably flared at the upper ends for easy centering of supporting hook 50. Locking pin 63 is fixed through holes in brackets 6I, G2 and a portion 64 of the locking pin 63 outside of the flared portions of the brackets 6I and 62 is flattened or reduced in diameter so that it will readily permit passage through slot 54. A spring 65 is provided normally to retain the pin 63 in the position shown in the drawing. In setting up the antenna hook 56 may be inserted between the flared portions of brackets 6I and 62 and pin 63 pushed to the left to bring the narrow portion opposite slot 54. Hook 5D then drops into place and pin 63 is permitted to return to its original position. As rod I8 is then lifted to the hori- Zontal, the slot 54 which is at an angle, as shown, no longer is in a position to pass flattened portion 64 of the pin so that there is no danger of it becoming accidently dislodged. At the other end of the rod the bracket 22 may be of a similar construction to that shown in Fig. 4. However,

in this case, the rod I8 is not turned after beingv put into place so that slot 55 must be made vertical. However, the inner portion of hook 53 is made flattened so that the element will be readily held in place by a slot not shown in bracket 22 even should some movement of parts be necessary to position the opening 55 at the holding pin.

In order to provide adjustment in length for rods like I8, one end thereof, preferably the end near antenna supporting means 24 may be provided within a hollow slotted sleeve 56 as shown in Fig. 5 and may be held in adjusted position once the antenna support 24 is suitably locked by means of a bolt 53 tightened by rotation of knurl wheel 51.

It should -be clear that while we have illustrated as a particular example a preferred embodiment of our invention, many alterations and changes therein may be made without departing from the scope of our invention as set forth in the objects of the invention and defined in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A tripod antenna support for antenna rod comprising three leg rods, means for retaining said antenna rod and the three leg rods in juxtaposition with each other including means for readily detachably and xedly mounting said leg rods at one of their ends on said retaining means to outline a pyramid with its apex at the top,lsaid retaining means being provided With an opening to accommodate said antenna rod, the other ends of said leg rods being supported from the ground, antenna mounting means adapted to be supported above the surface of the ground Ibelow said apex, a separate support rod readily detachably fastened at one end to an intermediate point of each one of said leg rods, means for readily detachably fastening the other ends of said support rods to said antenna mounting means, said support rods being of such length as to extend in a substantially horizontal plane to a point beneath said apex, and adjustable means at the lower end of each of said leg rods comprising a hollow Vmetal sleeve formed with a sharp ground-.piercing end, and permanently attached roller cam means and said sleeve cooperating with said leg to adjustably retain the end of said leg in a desired position within said sleeve.

2. A'tripod support according to claim l, further comprising means for adjusting the length of said support rods to adjust the position of said antenna mounting means.

3. A portable antenna support structure comprising three leg rods, means for retaining an antenna rod and the three leg rods in juxtaposition with each other, means for detachably and xedly mounting said rods at one end to outline a pyramid with its apex at the top, said retaining means being provided with an opening to accommodate an antenna rod, the other ends of said rods being supported from the ground, antenna mounting means adapted to be supported above the surface of the ground below said apex, a separate rod detachably fastened at one end to an intermediate point of each one of said leg rods, means for detachably fastening the other ends of said support rods to said antenna mounting means, said support rods being of such length as to extend in a substantially horizontal plane to a point beneath said apex, and means for adjusting the length of said support rods to adjust the position of said antenna mounting means.

4. A portable antenna structure according to claim 3, further comprising an adjustable means at the lower end of each of said legs comprising a hollow metal sleeve formed with a sharpened ground-piercing end, and roller cam means on said sleeve cooperating with said leg to adjustably retain the end of said leg in a desired position within said sleeve.

5. A portable antenna according to claim 3, further comprising means for adjustably controlling the length of each leg rod, comprising a hollow sleeve to receive one end of said leg rod, said sleeve being slotted on one side thereof, a bracket on said sleeve adjacent said slot and provided with a cam slot at a predetermined angle to said sleeve, a rotatable locking wheel having its shaft mounted in said cam slot and its periphery extending through the slot in said sleeve, and a strip forming a bearing plate for said locking wheel fixed to said one end of said leg and positioned to slide in said sleeve slot, whereby said leg may be locked in adjusted position with said sleeve.

6. A tripod support according to claim 1 wherein the means for detachably mounting the leg rods comprises sockets mounted on the retaining means for receiving the ends of the leg rods, slots in said sockets, projecting means on the rod for entering said slots and holding means for the rod cooperating with said projecting means.

AVERY G. RICHARDSON.

CASPER S. BEDNASI-E.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

